Sub Pop has signed Trupa Trupa from Gdańsk, Poland for a worldwide deal, and will release new music from the group in 2019. While we await details of that release, the band have delivered an official video for “Dream About” a new song that features a honeyed falsetto that totters over a menacing bassline, and the frisson between them so hypnotic it renders the title phrase as an existential mantra, a lifeline.
Director Benjamin Finger had this to say of the “Dream About” visual: “The video was shot on Super 8, a format I am strongly connected to, and I think it fits the music of Trupa Trupa. There is something poetic about the music, and I think it matches the images in a good way. The “Dream About” video is also about seeing the world through the eyes of the child. The video features footage shot on location in Vancouver, Paris and Buenos Aires.”
Trupa Trupa will tour the world in 2019, beginning with appearances at SXSW in Austin, Texas (March 14th-16th), and Slovakia and Poland (April 25th-27th). Additional shows will be announced soon.
Mar. 14 - Austin, TX - SXSW / Hotel Vegas / LEVITATION SXSW presented by CREEM Magazine (12:20 am) Mar. 15 - Austin, TX - SXSW / Austin Convention Center / Flatstock Stage (3:30 pm) Mar. 16 - Austin, TX - SXSW / Venue TBC Apr. 25 - Gdańsk, PL - Ziemia Apr. 26 - Poznań, PL - Spring Break Festival Apr. 27 - Bratislava, SK - Sharpe Festival
MICHAL SZLAGA
About Trupa Trupa:
The music that Polish quartet Trupa Trupa creates lands like anthems, with barbed hooks driven deep by an italicized rhythm section or turned into a fantasy by crisscrossing harmonies. During “Dream About,” honeyed falsetto totters over a menacing bassline, the frisson between them so hypnotic it renders the title phrase as an existential mantra, a lifeline. Their music is an embarrassment of riches, a string of hits in Trupa Trupa’s idiosyncratic, self-made universe.
But just beneath the surface of Trupa Trupa’s bright and indelible songs, there is a world teeming with nihilistic considerations, slyly dark humor, and survivalist self-assurances, all subtly nestled into these refrains and reflected back by secretly complex textures.
The setting of Gdańsk is a crucial philosophical and aesthetic touchstone for Trupa Trupa. A city with a convoluted history of German and Polish rule and self-sovereignty, it is itself a living testament to the turnover of human toil. It’s also the homeland of Arthur Schopenhauer, a philosopher whose system of metaphysical will inspired Nietzsche and, in turn, Trupa Trupa. Klaus Kinski was born nearby, too; Kwiatkowski considers his Werner Herzog-directed film, Fitzcarraldo, one of the best movies ever made. Kinski tries in vain to amass a fortune by piloting a steamship over a mountain into the rubber bonanza of the Amazon. It is a portrait of great effort and pathetic failure, of strain sublimating into nothing. Along with the notions of Beckett, hints of the Beatles, and the knotty complications of Radiohead, these emotions ripple through Trupa Trupa’s music.
Trupa Trupa is the second Polish band to sign to Sub Pop this year, following the February release of Perfect Son’s debut, Cast. As with Perfect Son, Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman, who has long taken a personal interest in the culture and history of Poland, has been following Trupa Trupa for years. In a 2013 interview with Pitchfork, he even mistook their second album, ++, for a set of demos when explaining that he was trying to decide whether or not he liked it. Apparently, he did.
But Trupa Trupa has grown inordinately in both confidence and execution during the last half-decade. Spurred on by a democratic process, where no one is the real leader and all ideas and influences are funneled into the same rich sound, Trupa Trupa channel a multiverse of feelings into its captivating music. They stare into the dark and summon a light of their own, making all our tedium and toil feel not just tolerable but deceptively triumphant.
Sub Pop welcomes Richmond, VA’s Minor Poet who will release The Good News, his label debut on LP/DL on May 17th, 2019. The six-song collection, which features the ebullient lead single “Tropic of Cancer,” was produced by Andrew Carter and Adrian Olsen (Natalie Prass, Foxygen) at Montrose Recording in Richmond.
After spending years writing and recording music by himself in various bedrooms and basements, Andrew Carter hit his stride with the debut Minor Poet album, And How!. Made on a creative whim with no outside expectations, the eleven-song collection combined Carter’s love of carefully-crafted pop with a loose, fun, off-the-cuff recording aesthetic. The album was released in 2017 and developed a small but loving fan base, and Minor Poet has grown from a passion project into a cross-country touring band with write-ups in publications such as American Songwriter, Magnet, The Wild Honey Pie, Impose, and more.
Minor Poet’s second album, The Good News, is a six-song collection that expands the boundaries of what constitutes the band’s sound. In just twenty-two minutes, the songs take apart the standard formulas of guitar-based rock and infuse them with vibrance and energy. On opener “Tabula Rasa,” interlocking guitars and a Farfisa organ carry the song through until everything drops suddenly into a doo-wop section that wouldn’t be out of place on a 1950’s greatest hits compilation. Warped noise envelops a tropicalia-flavored Casio beat in “Tropic of Cancer” before a slick groove and sliding bass line lead into the chorus’ pure pop bliss of horns and vocal harmonies. “Museum District” begins with a drum intro reminiscent of an off-kilter “Be My Baby,” and “Bit Your Tongue/All Alone Now” features a midsection with a glam-rock guitar solo amidst trumpet fanfare. These are just a few of the infectious moments on an EP filled with many more.
The Good News was made over four days at Montrose Recording, in Minor Poet’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia. In the past, Carter played all the instruments and handled all the production, but he knew that he had to reach outside himself to do justice to these songs. “I couldn’t capture the sounds I heard in my head,” Carter explains. “I wanted something that was vast and expansive but that at the same time could hit you immediately in the gut.” Paying homage to the “wall of sound” techniques made famous by Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, Carter and co-producer Adrian Olsen (Natalie Prass, Foxygen) overdubbed layer after layer of Carter playing an array of guitars, pianos, organs, synths, and percussion, as well as singing all the harmonies. The members of Minor Poet’s touring band were brought in to perform the core rhythm section, and local musicians stopped by to add crucial flourishes, such as the harmonizing guitar riffs in “Reverse Medusa” and the saxophone solo that closes out “Nude Descending Staircase.”
At the center of everything is Carter’s voice, singing lyrics that seamlessly mix allusions to religion, mythology, art, and philosophy as he questions himself, his place in the world around him, what he owes to his relationships, and, in turn, what he needs to ask of others in order to stay healthy. “Tabula Rasa” is a concept that argues that humans are born blank slates, shaped through experience and environment. The last two years couldn’t have felt more applicable for Carter, who started out as a fresh face with little-to-no experience in the music industry and slowly grew into himself as a stage performer and bandleader through both good and bad times. During this period he began to come to terms with lifelong struggles, such as the depression that permeates “Tropic of Cancer” and the social anxiety that runs through “Museum District.” Rather than be one-dimensional, however, Carter dives deeper into himself and his motivations, such as in “Reverse Medusa” when he sings, “Hide my love in poetic half-truths/never was one to dwell on my issues.” Carter’s ability to balance emotional honesty with a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness adds to the richness and originality of the music. Short but memorable, catchy yet meaningful, The Good News is another promising step forward for Minor Poet.
The Good News Tracklisting
1. Tabula Rasa 2. Tropic of Cancer 3. Museum District 4. Reverse Medusa 5. Bit Your Tongue / All Alone Now 6. Nude Descending Staircase
The current and fourth edition of the Sub Pop Singles Club will close at 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, March 3rd.
The series of 12 limited-edition 7” singles will now include a single by the almost-unspeakably good singer-songwriter Julien Baker, along with records including previously announced artists OCnotes, HIDE, Pallbearer, Uranium Club, Kikagaku Moyo, Man Man, Shannon Lay, Omni, Dream Decay, and more.
Subscribe here now - or at least by March 3rd - to ensure you don’t miss out!
And, if you need evidence of past glory to convince you to hit that buy button, you can now see the entire discography of Sub Pop’s prior Singles Clubs here.
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Singles Club Vol. 4 Overview ATTENTION RECORD NERDS AND MUSIC FANS! We are now taking subscriptions for the fourth – and, who knows, perhaps the best! –incarnation of the legendary Sub Pop Singles Club. Are you desperate to hear new and exciting music? Do you pine for exquisitely packaged, colored-vinyl artifacts? Do you break into a sweat at the thought of missing out on limited-edition tchotchkes to hold over your friends’ heads? Well, subscribe by March 3rd, 2019 to feed your need!
Attentive oldsters may recall the first edition of the Singles Club, which coincided with the launch of Sub Pop as a semi-functioning (and we do mean semi) record label, and featured Nirvana, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, L7, and countless (ok, around 75, to be more precise) other era-defining artists from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Fans of a more youthful age may remember the second and third editions, which ran from 1998-2002 and 2008-2009, respectively, and together included hitmakers like Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Get Up Kids, The Dutchess and the Duke, Om, Thee Oh Sees, and many more.
All of this ancient history is to say: 1. WE INVENTED THIS SHIT! 2. We’ll get you lots of great music, and there’s a good chance you’ll wind up with some highly sought-after rarities. And, 3. We’re seasoned pros at this and we’ll definitely probably get all your records delivered to the correct address right on time.
For the eminently reasonable postpaid (meaning shipping is included in the price; tax is not) price of $130 for the U.S., $170 for Canada, $185 for Mexico, and $195 for the rest of the world, you will receive twelve (12) 7” singles, shipped directly from Sub Pop HQ in Seattle to you, starting in April of 2019. These singles will feature exclusive tracks by artists from all over the map, both literally and figuratively, but tied together by the common thread of being great at what they do and inspiring to us. We hope you’ll feel the same. This offer is valid until11:59 pm PST, Sunday, March 3rd, 2019.
Things to know:
Subscribing by March 3rd, 2019 is the only way to get the physical 7”s. They will not be available in stores.
You can subscribe from anywhere in the world.
You can purchase a subscription as a gift – simply enter the recipient’s name and address in the delivery address fields for your order.
Each single will be available for streaming and digital purchase two weeks after that single ships. But by then you will not be able to go back in time, subscribe, and get that single. So sign up now if you want vinyl!
Subscriptions are exempt from any Mega Mart sale discounts.
You can buy a subscription in the same order as other items you wish to purchase from us. We will ship the rest of your order as soon as possible, but no Singles Club 7”s will ship until April 2019, when you’ll get the first two, with successive singles to follow in pairs every other month thereafter. (We are shipping two singles at a time, every other month, because shipping is expensive and we want this subscription to be relatively affordable.)
Singles Club subscriptions cannot be sent to your local store and are not part of the Sub Pop Local program. As such, there is no free-shipping option for the Singles Club.
If you need to change your address at any point during your subscription, please email websales@subpop.com.
Today, February 15th, 2019, marks the debut release of Cast from Polish artist, Perfect Son (aka Tobiasz Biliński). The 10-track album features the previously released lead singles “It’s For Life,” “Lust,” and the latest video offering, “Promises.” Inspired by the legend of Golem and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, “Promises” depicts an unusual love story, in an undetermined time. Isolated in an old house away from people, lives SHE. Unable to coexist with others, SHE creates a partner, a humanoid. You can unravel this love story, directed by Jarek Tokarski here.
Cast was co-produced by Biliński and Marcin Buźniak at Axis Audio in Warsaw, with additional production from Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, and mixed/mastered by Buźniak.
The band has announced a string of Polish shows beginning on March 20th in Warszawa, with additional dates beginning on April 4th in Torun. Perfect Son will also appear at this years OFF Festival in Katowice this coming August. Additional European dates to follow.
Mar. 20 - Warszawa, Poland - Hydrozagadka Apr. 04 - Torun, Poland - NRD Apr. 05 - Gdansk, Poland - Zak (PL) Apr. 11 - Poznan, Poland - Meskalina Apr. 12 - Łódź, Poland - Radio Lódź, Apr. 13 - Lublin, Poland - Dom Kultury Apr. 14 - Kraków, Poland - Zet Pe Te Apr. 17 - Wrocław, Poland - Stary Klasztor Apr. 18 - Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland - Magnet Off On, Aug. 02 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland) Aug. 03 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland) Aug. 04 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland)
Sub Pop is over the moon to announce that we’ve signed Seattle band Tacocat (!) and are set to release their new full-length album This Mess Is a Place on LP/CD/Digital and Cassette on Friday, May 3rd. The sparkly new album is their first for Sub Pop, and heralds a more pop-driven and ebullient direction in their sound. Today, NPR music premiered the official music video for lead-off single “Grains of Salt,” which features a variety of Seattle’s finest drag performers. Watch the official video here. The band has also announced a North American summer tour. Pre-orders are available now from our Megamart, with limited LOSER editions on jade green vinyl.
Tacocat also announced a run of 2019 North American tour dates. All tickets go on sale Friday, February 15th at 10 am local time.
May 09 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club May 10 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club May 11 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall May 12 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Pyramid Scheme May 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe May 15 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair May 17 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg May 18 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle May 19 - Washington, D.C. - U Street Music Hall May 21 - Durham, NC - The Pinhook May 22 - Atlanta, GA - The Drunken Unicorn May 23 - Nashville, TN - The High Watt May 24 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway May 25 - Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar June 08 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox at the Market June 12 - Spokane, WA - The Bartlett June 13 - Boise, ID - Neurolux June 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court June 15 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge June 17 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada June 18 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall June 19 - Austin, TX - Barracuda June 21 - Sante Fe, NM - Meow Wolf June 22 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar June 23 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah June 25 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bootleg Theater June 26 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel June 28 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
This Mess Is a Place Tracklisting:
1. Hologram 2. New World 3. Grains of Salt 4. The Joke of Life 5. Little Friend 6. Rose-Colored Sky 7. The Problem 8. Crystal Ball 9. Meet Me at La Palma 10. Miles and Miles
About Tacocat’s This Mess Is a Place:
When Seattle band Tacocat—vocalist Emily Nokes, bassist Bree McKenna, guitarist Eric Randall, and drummer Lelah Maupin—first started in 2007, the world they were responding to was vastly different from the current Seattle scene of diverse voices they’ve helped foster. It was a world of house shows, booking DIY tours on MySpace, and writing funny, deliriously catchy feminist pop-punk songs when feminism was the quickest way to alienate yourself from the then-en vogue garage-rock bros. Their lyrical honesty, humor, and hit-making sensibilities have built the band a fiercely devoted fanbase over the years, one that has followed them from basements to dive bars to sold-out shows at the Showbox. Every step along the way has been a seamless progression—from silly songs about Tonya Harding and psychic cats to calling out catcallers and poking fun at entitled weekend-warrior tech jerks on their last two records on Hardly Art, 2014’s NVM and 2016’s Lost Time.
This Mess is a Place, Tacocat’s fourth full-length and first on Sub Pop,finds the band waking up the morning after the 2016 election and figuring out how to respond to a new reality where evil isn’t hiding under the surface at all—it’s front and center, with new tragedies and civil rights assaults filling up the scroll of the newsfeed every day. “What a time to be barely alive,” laments “Crystal Ball,” a gem that examines the more intimate side of responding emotionally to the news cycle. How do you keep fighting when all you want to do is stay in bed all day? “Stupid computer stupor/Oh my kingdom for some better ads,” Nokes sings, throwing in some classic Tacocat snark, “Truth spread so thin/It stops existing.”
Despite current realities being depressing enough to make anyone want to crawl under the covers and sleep for a thousand years, Tacocat are doing what they’ve always done so well: mingling brightness, energy, and hope with political critique. This Mess is a Place is charged with a hopefulness that stands in stark contrast to music that celebrates apathy, despair, and numbness. Tacocat feels it all and cares, a lot, whether they’re singing odes to the magical connections we feel with our pets (“Little Friend”), imagining what a better earth might look like (“New World”), or trying to find humor in a wholly unfunny world (“The Joke of Life”).
Throughout the album, Tacocat questions power structures and the way we interact with them, recalling the feminist sci-fi of Ursula K. Le Guin in pop-music form. “Rose-Colored Sky” examines the privilege of people who have been able to skate through life without ever experiencing systemic disadvantage: “For all the years spent/Hot lava shaping me/For all the arguments/I wonder who else would I be?” Nokes sings. “If I wasn’t on the battleground/I bet I could’ve gone to space by now.” “Hologram” reminds us to step outside ourselves and try to see beyond imaginary structures that trap us: “Just close your eyes and think about the Milky Way/Just remember if you can, power is a hologram.”
The record is full of beautiful details, finding plastic beaded curtains catching light amidst feelings of despair. This Mess is A Place explores politics with more nuance than the topical songs of Tacocat’s past, inviting listeners in for more complicated exchanges and leaving space for introspection. “Grains of Salt” finds the band at the best they’ve ever sounded: Maupin’s spirited drums, McKenna’s bouncy walking bass, Randall’s catchy guitar and Nokes’ soaring melody combine to create a bonafide roller-rink hit that reminds us that it just takes some time, we’re in the middle of the ride, and to live for what matters to you. It’s a delightfully cathartic moment and the cornerstone of the record when they exclaim: “Don’t forget to remember who the fuck you are!”
Producer Erik Blood (who also produced Lost Time) brings the band into their full pop potential but still preserves what makes Tacocat so special: they’re four friends who met as young punks and have grown together into a truly collaborative band. Says Nokes: “We can examine some hard stuff, make fun of some evil stuff, feel some soft feelings, feel some rage feelings, feel some bitter-ass feelings, sift through memories, feel wavy-existential, and still go get a banana daiquiri at the end.”
